This Month's Meeting - Wednesday, November 8, 2017 - Manuel's Tavern This Month's Presentation Chad Bryson - Large Brown Trout Tactics on the Chattahoochee Chad Bryson is a guide and author who loves to catch big fish. He guides in Western North Carolina for trout and small mouth bass on several rivers including the Tuckaseegee River, Little Tennessee River, Nantahala River, Hiwassee River, Fires Creek, Big Snowbird Creek and Santeetlah Creek. Come out to Manuel's and learn new tactics for catching the big one. Great Raffle Prizes SPECIAL RAFFLE Enter to win our special raffle. Is it a guided trip...a new fly rod...the only way to find out is to come to this month's meeting! REGULAR RAFFLE There will be 11 winners in our regular raffle who can choose an item from the table filled with fly-fishing gear. A 12th winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to a local fly shop. FLY RAFFLE Remember to bring some flies for the fly raffle. Tie your own or pull some from your fly box. You get one ticket per fly and a chance to take home a pitcher full of flies. 2018 Officer Nominations By: Mike "Copperhead" Williams President: Greg Thurlow Treasurer: Larry Zagorski Programs: Michael Williams & Tom Tkacs Membership: Holly & Terry Shikano Raffles: Jon Steinhilber & Debra Pauli Newsletter: Bob Prator Salt Water: Doug Brady, Ken Louko & Gordon Middleton Cold Water: JD Forrester Warm Water: Jim Corbett & Rick Lee Recruitment: Mike Greene Webmaster: Tom Gage Education: Ken Louko Fly Tying: Karl Kortemeir Casting: Ed Chamberlain Greeters: Bob Murrah & Ralph Smith Community Affairs: Eric Davies Many thanks to those of you who have chosen to continue serving the club!! Well done!! Upcoming Trips AFFC Fall Coldwater Trip By: J D Forrester It is time for an AFFC Fall trip. This year we will be heading to the Davidson River, just outside Brevard, NC. This area has tons of wild trout fishing as well as several DH streams. When: I will be there from Wednesday, November 29th to Sunday, December 3rd. Where: I will be camping at the Davidson River Campground, site 039. To make reservations at this campground go to recreation.gov. If you prefer to stay at a motel, Brevard has plenty to choose from. Food: Will have more info on this when the time comes, but we will be close to many restaurants. If you have any questions, feel free to contact J D. AFFC Trip to "Ole Florida" By: Doug Brady Greetings AFFC anglers. We've got an exciting new Saltwater adventure you won't want to miss! This April, we're introducing "Ole Florida". Captains Scotty MacCalla and Nick Sassic of our Louisiana Redfish adventure, have designed this immersive new fishing experience in the central, east coastal area of Florida. In three days we'll fish three different waters, all while getting a taste of the old Florida beauty and charm. Enjoy waters teeming with life, magnificent scenery, and opportunities to sight fish in comfortable spring weather. Visualize Spanish moss on live oaks overhanging the tannic waters of the St Johns River as we hunt for bass. Witness sunrise over the world famous Indian River lagoon as we prowl for reds and speckled sea trout. See herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills, brown and white pelicans, royal Poinciana's and palm trees on full display as we explore ocean shore line or inlets. If you've ever wanted to fish some of Florida's most productive and scenic waters with good friends and excellent guides, this is your trip. The spaces will go fast, so contact Doug Brady with your questions and get on the list. The cost should be roughly the same as our Louisiana adventures (approximately $1,1 00) and cover three days guided fishing, lodging and food. An added bonus is that participants will be able to extend their adventure if they wish since the region offers many wade, kayak and boating waters ripe for discovery. Four anglers per 3 day session, and we've got at least two sessions reserved for club members. Come fish "Ole Fla" with the AFFC and get your salt on. New 'Hooch Access at Hwy 20 Bridge By: Ken Louko From the new 15 space angler parking area on Hwy 20, there is a beautiful walkway that runs from the parking lot under the highway bridge. It was purposely put in for angler access. At the end of the walkway, it turns into gravel for only a few feet. Then, it gets really interesting (especially after a hard rain like we had a few days ago). The access point drops off a mud bank into a small run off feeder stream (see the photo). Someone has put in a chain (with a lock) to assist going up and down the bank. Personally, I wouldn't try this after a rain as the bank appears to be very slippery - not to mention that it is muddy as all hell. The access is big enough to put in a kayak or float tube (very carefully). Once in the creek, it's only a few feet to the river. In my case, I was wondering if I could launch my new Water Master Kodiak there. My belief is that it is possible. This access point is at the very southern end of the "You must wear a PFD zone" below Buford Dam. Below the Hwy 20 Bridge, there is some really great Trout water. It is also Big Brown Trout water especially during the Fall and Winter months as they go through their spawning ritual. The new access point has seen some use already. A group of anglers in Float Tubes would look like Lemmings jumping off a cliff but it definitely looks like a new opportunity to float through some good, productive trout water (after the river clears, of course). Fishing Reports Taj, Rob and JD Go to the South Holston By: JD Forrester This last full week of October saw Bob "Taj" Prator, Rob Kissel and I headed to the South Holston. We got up there on Wednesday and saw over-cast skies, cool weather and generation (sluicing on the South Holston) on our two favorites rivers in the area, the South Holston and Watauga. So we headed to the Beaverdam, a large creek close to the Virginia line. This creek holds a very large wild trout population and can hold some big fish. We all were pleasantly surprised at how well the Beaverdam fished. For me, around 14 or 15 fish in the two hours we fished. Some were small, but a few were in the 13-14 inch range. Orange and yellow stimulators with purple zebras and bb midges. Now, if you don't know, Taj and Rob are coffee- holics. Taj so much so he brings a Keurig coffee machine on his fishing trips. I was awakened by a scream of misery when the temperature in the cabin was too low for the Keurig to make his beloved coffee. Keurig-1 Taj-0 The second day brought clear, warmer weather but also the dreaded generation. So we headed to the Beaverdam again, thinking the fishing would improve. It didn't. We caught a few fish, but the fishing was off. So was the Keurig the next morning. It still wouldn't work. Taj was in mourning. Keurig-2 Taj-0 The third day saw the same generation patterns which frustrated us. To be more specific, the generators are being worked on in the South Holston and they were sluicing at 1140 cfs, a figure that we thought would not allow wading. BUT, after getting some info at the South Holston Fly Shop, we headed to Big Bend and found some wade-able water. You had to be careful, and you could not go just anywhere you wanted, but you could do it. We caught a couple right off the bat but it went flat soon after that. But around 5 the sulfurs started showing up and we had JD on the SOHO at 1140 cfs a good end to a slow day, with each of us getting around a dozen fish. Sulfur cripples and puff daddies were the ticket. The third day the weather was a bit warmer so Taj approached his Keurig with anticipation. Maybe too much anticipation because the Keurig over-flowed this time. Keurig-3 Taj-0 Rob went home so it was just me and Taj on Saturday. It called for rain that day so we decided to head to the Watauga, a better nymphing river. Taj netted a big brown and I lost a big fish but we only pulled in 2 or 3 each on the Watauga, a very disappointing morning. So, with the 1:00 PM generation approaching, we headed to the South Holston, in the rain, and not expecting much to happen in the rain. We were very wrong. It actually was a pretty good sulfur hatch, even in the rain. And if you could see the fly and keep it floating. you had a pretty good shot at catching fish on a dry. Taj had a really nice 16 inch brown almost in the net several times, but the big boy went between his legs and broke off. I had a big boy that went screaming down the river and threw the fly. It was a great but wet afternoon. The sulfur cripple was the fly of the day. Back to the coffee wars-Taj was so frustrated with his Keurig, he left the heater in the cabin on all night and finally got a cup of coffee in the morning.